Malawi Supreme Court rejects Kadzamira land appeal
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Nyasa Times
Malawi’s Supreme Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed Mama Cecelia Tamanda Kadzamira’s appeal in a land dispute linked to Elias Zakeyu Kaphwiti Banda’s lease. The judges upheld the lease’s priority and ordered the applicant to pay costs, Nyasa Times reports.
Malawi’s Supreme Court of Appeal has unanimously dismissed Mama Cecelia Tamanda Kadzamira’s land appeal and upheld the ruling in favour of the family of Elias Zakeyu Kaphwiti Banda, according to its judgment dated 5 November 2026 and delivered in Blantyre. The seven-judge panel, chaired by Chief Justice Rizine Mzikamanda, found that the appeal was devoid of merit.
The judges held that the lease registered in the name of Elias Zakeyu Kaphwiti Banda took priority over competing claims and had not been legally cancelled, abandoned or forfeited. Kadzamira had not demonstrated that she had an enforceable right to occupy the land or that a property violation had been established.
The court also rejected arguments based on limitation periods and the rule of res judicata. It upheld the High Court’s judgment in full and ordered Kadzamira to pay the costs. The defendants are the subordinate traditional authority of Kawere, Gabon Kaphwiti, Mrs Kaphwiti and Yeriko Mateyu.
